Monsters and Shadows
by Vingilot the Sky Ship
Summary: The four young men of Shadow Squad are the top students at Umbra academy and now they're transferring to Beacon. But are they there just to learn, or do they have a different motive? Rated T for Monty Om style violence, and the occasional swearing.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The shadows cast by the setting sun on the mountains were beginning to fill the office. San was a practical, pragmatic man with little time for superstition. Still, the symbolism in how the lengthening shadows had cloaked the desk and its occupant in darkness was not lost on him. But, since he was a pragmatic man, the only thing he was concerned about was how he could no longer see the headmistress' facial expressions to gauge her reaction to his words. Considering poorly received the subject he was about to broach was likely to be, he'd have liked any edge he could get.

"You have your orders, Sanguin. Unless something is unclear to you, I suggest you go brief your squad and prepare for departure." Though her face obscured by the shadows, her golden eyes were lit with the power of her Aura. San almost wished they weren't; he could practically feel the coldness radiating from them. His objections were going to go over even worse than he'd thought. Still…

"I'm uncertain about our mission parameters, ma'am. Some of them feel somewhat… arbitrary. This emphasis on secrecy-"

"You know who we're dealing with here, Sanguin. Our enemies are among some of the most dangerous and cunning individuals in the world. If they get the slightest hint of your intentions or goals, they will move to counter you, and completing your mission might very well become impossible."

_So now they're _my _goals and intentions._ San mused somewhat wryly. He felt the need to press on. "I can understand the need for operational security, but your specific exclusion of-"

"The easiest way to keep a secret is to not tell anyone it yourself. Your orders are clear. Only the members of Shadow squad are to know your true purpose." Her tone of voice made it clear the discussion was over. "I have other business to attend to. I suggest you go brief your squad and prepare your gear. Oh, and tell them to pack something to read. It is a long flight to Vale."

"Yes, headmistress." San turned and left, still unsettled with thoughts of the upcoming mission. As he walked to his squad's room, those thoughts only grew. On a whim he took a detour away from the barracks and headed out onto one of the bridges between buildings, hoping some fresh air would help him get his head on straight.

The mountain air was cooling quickly as the last few slivers of sunlight were vanishing behind the western mountains. San breathed deep and ran a hand through his crimson hair, wondering when he would next get to see this view. Though a harsh region, the land around the Gnomon Mountains that Umbra Academy was situated in had been his home for years now, and he would miss it. Breaking out of his brief reverie, he leaned on the railing, and tried to let his worries flow away. When they stubbornly persisted, he tried to rationalize away his doubts.

_Even if I marched back up there and refused to go through with it, she'd just send Specter or Silence, and they'd get killed on a mission like this. Shadow is the only squad that can do this, and any doubts will only slow me down. So, if I have to do this mission, than I need to make sure the others and I get the job done. And if that mission involves bending over backwards for this stupidity, I'll make do whether I like it or not._

Not entirely reassured but accepting the pointlessness of dwelling on it, San stood straight again and continued his walk to the barracks, already trying to decide on how to explain their mission to his squad. A mission where infiltrating the home of some of the best hunters on the continent was the easy part.

oOoOoOoOo

Beacon, like all schools, usually hummed with the activity only several hundred students could create. And Beacon hummed louder than most, especially since most schools didn't have gunfire as a standard component of their classes. Still, even Beacon's energetic hunters-to-be tended to taper off by nightfall. The only exceptions were those who were perfectionists, expected their skills to be tested in the near future, or were just plain stubborn.

Unfortunately for one Ruby Rose, her partner was all three.

"Weiiiiss, can't we stop practicing now?" she whined, having already exhausted other methods of persuasion.

"Stop?! Are you out of her mind?! The Vytal tournament is coming up and we're still not ready yet!" Weiss was currently residing somewhere between panic and manic enthusiasm, making her an… energetic sparring partner. Not for the first time, Ruby regretted not leaving with Blake and Yang when they had left to get dinner.

"But the tournament's not until the day after tomorrow. We have plenty of time."

"Like I _told_ you, we need to spend our time tomorrow resting so we're fully recuperated in time for the tournament."

Normally, Ruby was fine when her training sessions with Weiss ran later than most. She _liked_ fighting, and being a good leader for her team meant constantly honing her skills, something she had tried to keep up ever since Weiss' outburst on that disastrous first day. Today, however, something felt off and she couldn't shake the uneasiness that gripped her. It made her want to just curl up with one of her books about great huntresses and fantastic quests, not spend all day sparring. Still, she'd done a good job of hiding it from her teammates.

"What's with you, anyway? You've been acting all weird today. Well, weirder than usual." Weiss inquired.

Okay, maybe she hadn't hidden it that well. "It's nothing. Guess I'm just a little nervous for the tournament."

"Well don't worry, I know an excellent way to cure nerves." Weiss consoled.

"You do?" Ruby asked hopefully. "What is it?"

"More training, of course! Now come on, we've still got time for another few rounds before they close the training grounds for the night."

Ruby just sighed as she hefted Crescent Rose, painfully aware she'd walked right into that.

oOoOoOoOo

As night fell on the city of Vale, it's nightlife came alive with the usual people who preferred the dark. Though, for such a large and wealthy city, there was a surprisingly small amount of crime. Rare were the criminals who would dare to transgress so close to what many considered the hunting hub of the world, especially considering how often Beacon's residents chose to blow off steam via combat, and how lawbreakers made all too tempting targets.

Roman Torchwick was not having a good week. He'd spent days working with blindingly incompetent terrorists plotting a heist simple enough that even their animal brains could follow it. Then, after all that prep work, they were foiled by a group of children consisting of "Red", a pair of Faunus who apparently hadn't gotten the memo about their leader's plans, and a girl who he wasn't entirely certain was human. And to top it all off, his backers had insisted he keep working with those mutts, for no reason he could tell other than just keeping them around.

This all hadn't left him in the best of moods, but even angry as he was he knew better than to mouth off to his boss. He knew she needed him, but it was a good idea to not make her either forget that or not care anymore. So, when she did her usual trick of somehow appearing out of nowhere in the middle of his warehouse hideout and announcing herself with a snide comment, he kept his mouth shut.

Well, tried to. "Please tell me you're here because I can quit working with those animals. They couldn't steal Dust if I dangled it on a string in front of them."

"A tempting experiment." The woman, he only knew her as Cinder, has a voice that managed to be seductive and threatening at the same time. Roman, contrary to what his cavalier image might have suggested, was more concerned about the threat than the seduction. It was easy enough to find a woman who _wasn't_ likely to kill him, after all.

Cinder continued. "While the White Fang still has its uses, I'll concede they are a blunt instrument at best." She paused. Roman's already not significant patience thinning from the theatrics. Unfortunately, it wasn't like he had any options other than waiting it out.

"Since your new task is going to require… subtlety, I've found some new assistants for you."

Roman's suspicious mind immediately supplied questions. "So, who are we talking about here? And what do you mean _new_ task?"

Cinder smiled, but her golden eyes didn't have a single hint of warmth in them. "You'll be meeting them soon enough. They have to travel quite a ways to get here. As for your new assignment, collecting Dust through simple robberies is taking too long. It's time we were more… direct."

"Direct." Roman repeated. From the sound of that, he had probably been better off with the mutts.

* * *

AN: So this was born out of a few ideas that had been bouncing around in my head. I know much of this doesn't make a ton of sense right now but it either will soon enough or is supposed to be a mystery for now. I'll try to get a proper chapter out fairly quickly, but it might be a big one so it could take some time. (Damn Finals)

Any criticism is welcome, as well as compliments ;).


	2. Tournament Part 1

**Chapter 1: The Tournament**

The Vytal Festival had been organized in the aftermath of the Great War as a celebration of peace between the once warring Vale and Mistral. Since then it had moved from its roots to become an overall celebration of the world's various cultures, drawing in people from as far as Vacuo. Though the parades and dances had their fans, in recent years the Vytal Tournament had become one of the more popular events of the festival, as paradoxical as having a fighting tournament in a festival of peace was.

The tournament took place in what was usually a sports arena but had been converted for the occasion. The floor was now occupied by four combat rings, each separated from the other by partitions meant to stop any errant projectiles and other distractions. Overhead, a large video screen would be showing the brackets for each of the tournament's four blocks.

"Did we all check in? The sign up period is almost over." Weiss was saying, talking to the other members of Team RWBY and Team JNPR who were standing on the balcony at the edge of the seating that overlooked the stadium floor. Though there were eight of them, only five were actually taking part in the tournament. Blake and Ren were both not interested, and Jaune had begrudgingly admitted that he needed more practice before entering a serious competition.

"Yes, mom." Yang replied sarcastically.

"Don't give me that! I just wanted to make sure we're all ready." Weiss angrily retorted.

Trying to head off the inevitable argument, Ruby pointed to the screen above them. "Look guys, I think they're about to post the fights."

Sure enough, the Vytal Festival logo that had been on the screen flickered away and was replaced by the tournament brackets, each match made by random selection. Ruby scanned the screen for her name and found herself in the first match of block C. Looking further, she saw that most of her friends were in other blocks, the only name she recognized in block C was Sun's. Most of them were only going to fight each other near the end of the tournament except for two of them.

"Hmph, that should be a good one." Yang said, looking at the words that proclaimed one of the matches in block B.

**Weiss Schnee vs. Pyrrha Nikos.**

Ruby looked over at her teammate, who was staring at the words almost transfixed. Pyrrha seemed to be trying to find something to say when Weiss turned to her.

"Good."

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha clearly thought she had misheard.

"This is good." Weiss repeated. "I'd have had to fight you sooner or later, this way we can fight when we're both at our best."

"I guess." Pyrrha responded before grinning. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Of course." Weiss held out her hand. "May the best Huntress win."

Pyrrha extended her own hand, but Ruby was distracted when an obscenity echoed through the air from behind them.

"Oh, this is some horse_shit_!"

Ruby turned to see a group of four young men all dressed in black looking up at the screen. The speaker, who had sandy blonde hair and a glaive slung over his back, had crossed his arms with a scowl on his face.

"I have to fight San in the first freaking round? We're on the same squad, how does _that _happen?"

One of his companions, who had what looked like a pair of swords that were attached at the hilt strapped to his back, ran his hand through dark hair. "Man, when they said random matchups, they meant it. You're just got unlucky."

"That's putting it mildly." The first groused. "Might as well forfeit now and save myself the beating."

"Don't even think about it." A third one interrupted. He had a ninjato sheathed on his back and red hair that had been cropped short. He fixed his companion with the glaive with a stern gaze while the fourth member of the group, a Faunus with dog ears and a pair of tanto sheathed at his hips looked between the two of them impassively. "We're only even here to showcase our skills, to do that we need strong opponents. You and I are going to fight each other all out, no holding back. Got it?"

The glaive man just sighed. "God, what a pain." He gave the man with a ninjato, who Ruby assumed was San, a curious look. "I'll fight as seriously as you do, how 'bout that?"

San's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to respond but Glaive Man spoke first. "Look sharp, guys. We have an audience." He glanced over at Ruby, who flinched at being caught eavesdropping and looked away. She quickly refocused on her friends' conversation, which at that point was about whether or not Nora could break one of her opponents' limbs before the referee would call the match.

Right as Ren was convincing Nora that whether she could or couldn't break some bones in her matches was immaterial to the fact she _shouldn't_, a call over the loud speakers summoned the participants to the arena floor. They bid the noncombatants goodbye and headed over to the stairwell. As they walked, Ruby drifted over to Weiss.

"I'll try to finish my match quickly, so I can come cheer you on in your match, Weiss."

For some reason, Weiss' face flushed at that. "What? Why would you do that?"

Ruby scratched the back of her head, confused. "T-to encourage you?"

Weiss sighed. "I _know _you want me to win, you dunce. You should stay over at your block and observe the other matches, so you can see how your opponents fight and if they have any weaknesses." She turned to Yang, who was watching them with a smirk. "And you can be quiet."

"I didn't say anything." Yang sing-songed.

"You know," Pyrrha cut in. "You could just watch the match after yours to observe your next opponent, then come watch our match."

"_That's_ what I'll do." Ruby beamed at the redhead.

Weiss huffed. "I suppose that would be fine."

"It's a date." Yang cackled. She ran off to the ring where the A block matches would be held when Weiss' hand dropped to Myrtenaster's hilt.

"Well, this is where we part ways." Pyrrha said, waving as she and Weiss walked over to the B block ring with Nora following after Yang with her usual energy.

"Good luck!" Ruby called to the retreating figures. "Um, to both of you! But, ah, go Weiss!"

She sighed. That sentence had had a lot more promise when she started it. She jumped when the speakers declared that the tournament was starting soon and would all participants please be at their designated rings when their match starts or they would be disqualified. With a jolt she remembered her match was the very first one and she raced over.

oOoOoOoOo

Ruby half listened as the referee listed off the tournament's rules to her and her opponent, a boy named Mike Stone who looked about a year older than her with a black bowl cut and no visible weapons other than a pair of armored bracers. She had already learned how tournament style fights worked from Professor Goodwitch's class; fifteen minute time limit, you lose if your Aura drops into the red or you're knocked out of the ring. Mike was paying rapt attention, suggesting he didn't have a ton of fighting experience. _Maybe I can finish this quickly and get over to Weiss' match._

Finally, the referee finished the explanation and told them to get ready. Crescent Rose unfolded from its compact state. Mike looked at the now massive weapon with wide eyes as a pair of blades extended from his bracers.

"Ready… Begin!"

Mike shot forward, one of his blades lashing towards her face. She jumped to the side and lunged towards him, with Crescent Rose boosting her speed. She swung her baby in a wide arc, intending to catch him midstride. However, whatever his fighting experience really was, he had quick reflexes and nimbly leapt over her strike. Riding her momentum, Ruby angled Crescent Rose towards the ground and launched herself into the air after him.

Unable to dodge in midair, he was forced to block her attack with his bracers. However, while he stopped the attack, the force behind it blew him backward, off the edge of the ring. With no way to recover like she did, using another shot to propel herself back in bounds, he dropped down onto the floor, landing on his feet.

"Ring out! The winner is Ruby Rose!" The referee declared.

Mike groaned in disappointment before giving her a good natured wave and heading for the spectator seats.

Ruby was grinning. Not only had she won, she did so fast enough that the next match would have to take almost the entire fifteen minutes for her to miss Weiss and Pyrrha's fight. She fidgeted impatiently as the referee called the next two fighters to the ring.

"Next combatants, Sanguin and Argos, to the ring please."

Ruby started when she heard that name, recalling the argument she had heard earlier. If this Sanguin was San...

He was. He and Glaive Man, or Argos, she supposed, were walking into the ring now. _Good. _ Argos clearly didn't think he could win this fight, so it should be over with plenty of time to spare. On the other hand, that probably meant San was going to be really tough to beat.

_Well, that's why Weiss wanted me to watch the fight. _Maybe she would see some weakness in his fighting style or something.

The two fighters waved off the explanation of the rules while drawing their simple, but still deadly looking, weapons, San unsheathing his ninjato and Argos pulling his glaive free from the straps on his back. Both of them got into combat stances while the referee withdrew to a safe distance.

"Ready… Begin!"

Before he had even finished the word, they had both sprang forward and met with a clang of steel on steel. They stood with their weapons locked against one another for a few seconds before breaking away from each other. The reprieve lasted for less than a second before they lunged back at each other. The air filled with the sound of ringing metal as they each launched a flurry of attacks, parries and counters, moving almost faster than Ruby's eyes could follow. They danced around the ring, still raining blows at each other, neither letting up for a second.

Ruby was mesmerized by the duel. Neither one made a single wasted movement, nor could they afford to. San was switching his weapon between his hands without difficulty, allowing him to counter and strike in unpredictable ways. Argos' movements were fluid like water, an oddity for a fighter with a long, linear weapon like his glaive or other types of spears. Both of them were fighting with every part of their bodies, hands and feet used to turn blows away from one another or launch strikes of their own. The unrelenting dance of attacks and blocks was almost hypnotic. Still, her trained eyes picked up on a subtle difference between the two.

Argos was trying to keep his distance, to better utilize his longer weapon's reach. San was pressing in, and he was slowly but surely getting inside his foe's attack range, limiting Argos' maneuverability with his weapon. It looked like this fight would depend on whoever could control the range of their clash.

Sure enough, San eventually got close enough to his foe to strike directly with his hands and feet. While Argos was able to hold him off for a little while longer, eventually a blow to the stomach by San's knee knocked the wind out of him. San capitalized on the opening, spinning into a kick that sent his adversary flying away, while an iron grip on the glaive's shaft wrenched it from its owner's hands.

His face an impassive mask, like it had been the whole battle, San drove the glaive tip first into the ground so that it stood upright, then charged his enemy. Argos had quickly rolled to his feet and actually managed to fend off a few strikes with some well-timed dodges. However, San's advantage quickly made itself clear and he landed a serious blow that, were it not for Argos' Aura, would have torn him open from shoulder to hip. Argos fell to the ground, his Aura plummeting into the red.

San didn't let up, continuing his attack. As the referee called for him to stop, Argos suddenly launched himself off the ground with his hands, slamming into San's chin with both his feet. Now it was San's turn to go flying across the ring, falling onto his back.

"ENOUGH! The match is over!" The referee roared at the two of them.

"What? Over?" Argos asked, clearly confused.

"You're in the red." His opponent explained as he rolled to his feet.

"Awwwww, are you telling me that last hit didn't even count?" Argos whined.

San returned his ninjato to its sheath on his back as he straightened up. "For what it's worth, I was still fighting seriously."

"I suppose that's good enough." Argos rolled onto his back, then sprang to his feet. Ruby noticed that he was still rather spry for someone who had just been beaten into the red. San had walked over to the glaive and wrenched it out of the ground. Without a hint of a warning, he turned and whipped it at Argos, point first.

Before Ruby could do more than open her mouth to yell out a warning or _something_, Argos' hand snapped up and caught the glaive just past the bladed tip. Even more surprisingly, he hadn't turned his head towards it, meaning he could only have seen it with his peripheral vision.

"Hope that was a good warm-up for you." He quipped as he returned his glaive to its place on his back.

"Good enough." San answered. "You should go catch Will's match."

"I think I will, see ya." Argos bent his knees and in a single motion leapt to the balcony overlooking the arena. It wasn't an incredible jump, but still impressive for someone who had just lost a fight that had lasted… twelve minutes eighteen seconds!? She might've missed Weiss' match!

Kicking herself for getting distracted, Ruby raced around the arena towards the B block ring. Maybe if she was lucky the other fights had run long.

No such luck. She could tell even from a distance that Weiss was or had been fighting. The massive geyser of ice was proof enough of that. As she ran closer, she could see that Pyrrha's shield Akoúo was wedged in the side of the ice and hear the ring of weapons clashing against each other. Finally, she reached the edge of the ring and could see the fight proper.

Weiss and Pyrrha were circling each other, both of them looking worn and panting. A quick glance to the screen told Ruby that both their Auras were near the red, Weiss' just a hair lower. Pyrrha's Miló was steady, while Weiss' grip on Myrtenaster looked shaky. Weiss hefted it with some difficulty, and, with a boost from her one of her glyphs, shot forward at Pyrrha. It was at this point that three things happened in a spilt second.

The first was that Ruby made good on her earlier words. "Goooo Weiss! You can take her!"

The second was that Weiss turned her head in Ruby's direction, clearly trying to identify the noise.

The third was that Pyrrha extended her free hand, one with a thin covering of black Aura. Akoúo shot free of the ice and slammed into Myrtenaster, knocking it away and Weiss off balance. Miló snapped up and landed a blow to Weiss' side, knocking her to the floor.

"Aura depletion! Winner, Pyrrha Nikos!" the referee's voice boomed.

Weiss shook her head, accepted Pyrrha's hand up and plucked Myrtenaster from where it had fallen. Ruby winced as she sheathed it and walked over to the stairs off the ring, aware that her outburst had been what distracted her teammate at such a crucial moment of the match. When Weiss walked over to her, she was already apologizing.

"Weiss, I'm really sorry I distracted you I just wanted to cheer you on and the match after mine lasted really long so I missed most of yours and when I got here I just started cheering and I didn't think to check if it might distract you and I messed you up and I'm really sorry!"

Weiss looked thrown off, although it was unclear if that was from Ruby's apology already summing up what she had been going to say or the fact that Ruby had managed to say all that in one breath. She just sighed and rested a hand on her face.

"I suppose it's fine. Pyrrha likely wouldn't have been beaten by such a straightforward attack anyway. So!" She suddenly switched gears. "Since you stayed to watch the next match I'm guessing you won yours?"

Ruby nodded nervously, still afraid Weiss was mad with her.

Weiss noticed. "Ruby, it's _fine_. There's no shame in losing to someone like Pyrrha. You should be more worried about your upcoming matches. Did you see any weaknesses in your opponent you can exploit?"

Ruby thought back to the flurry of sword strikes that were blindingly fast. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course I did. Don't worry about me, I can take him." _Somehow._

"Good. I'm going to the spectator seats, you should go back over to you ring so you don't miss your match." Weiss paused, turned her head away. "I'll be cheering for you."

"You will?"

"Of course I will you dunce, now get going."

"Right." Ruby was about to leave, before she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hello, Ruby."

"Gaaahhh, Penny!" The redhead had somehow gotten right behind her without making a sound. "How do you _do _that?"

"Do what?" Penny tilted her head quizzically.

Weiss just sighed. "Nevermind that. What is it?"

"I just wanted to let my friend know that I won my match." Penny said, still beaming.

"That's great. Maybe we'll get to fight each other." Ruby laughed awkwardly.

Penny just looked shocked. "I hope not. I wouldn't like to have to fight my friend."

Weiss coughed. "Ruby, shouldn't you be getting back over to your ring?"

"Right. Good luck Penny!" Ruby dashed off.

oOoOoOoOo

Yang felt she had been waiting more than long enough for her fight. After watching Nora lose against Whateverhernamewas, an older Beacon student, Yang was itching to go, to sorta avenge her friend by winning her match and getting to the second round. If she and Whoeveritwas both made it to the third round, then she could avenge Nora properly.

"Yang Xiao Long and William, to the ring please.

_Finally! I'm ready to kick some ass. I'm fired up. Heh, fired, I kill myself._

As if to contrast Yang's fervor, her opponent seemed remarkably sedate. William's face was an impassive mask, framed by ruffled white hair and a pair of floppy dog ears where a human's would have been.

As the referee droned on about the rules, Yang surveyed her opponent. He looked a few years older than her and stood a couple inches taller. He had a slim build, but with enough muscle to show that he worked out. Sheathed at his waist was a pair of long daggers.

_Ok, he's muscley enough to probably have some training, but slim plus two weapons means he's probably a speedy guy, and hopefully can't take that many hits. _

Yang realized the rules recitation had ended a few seconds ago, and William and the referee were looking at her.

"Are you ready?" the referee asked, sounding like he was repeating himself.

"Er, yeah. May the best man win."

William didn't say anything in response to that, just cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You know what I meant." Ember Celica expanded into fight mode and she got into her fighting stance. William took his own stance, his weapons noticeably remaining sheathed at his side.

_He's underestimating me. Fine, I'll just make him regret it. _

"Begin!"

Yang snapped her fists forward, first one then the other, each firing off a round. William neatly sidestepped the shells with room to spare, otherwise not moving.

_So he _is _a fast guy. Then I'll just have to get in close._

Yang darted forward, firing off another round as she did so. William again dodged, this time also withdrawing from her advance. Yang continued to approach, firing as she came. Though William evaded every shot, he was still being backed up until he had retreated into a corner.

_Gotcha. Nowhere to run now except… _Yang fired at his legs. Just like she thought, he leapt to avoid it and took the opportunity to try to pass completely over her to get out of the corner. Which meant for a brief second he was without a foothold, directly over her head.

_Except above. Can't dodge now. _ Yang twisted and fired.

The shell passed right by him, missing by about a foot.

_What!?_ Yang was stunned as William landed lightly near the center of the ring. That shot had been aimed right, it should have hit. Her confusion turned to rage as he straightened up and cocked his fingers in the universal "come on" gesture while the ghost of a grin danced on his face. With a snarl, she threw herself at her enemy.

oOoOoOoOo

Blake was watching the match from the railing at the edge of the spectator seats with a growing sense of uneasiness. Yang was a good fighter, strong and with a sense of tactics most wouldn't expect from the boisterous blonde. But neither were much help if she couldn't even hit her opponent. So far, all she could do was chase William around the ring, never getting close enough to attack directly and none of her shots coming close to hitting him. There was something weird about how he was dodging, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Hey, Dom! Over here!" A shout rang out from near her. Instinctively seeking the noise, Blake turned to see a sandy haired young man is the same black outfit as Yang's opponent waving in her direction.

"Excuse me." Another black garbed young man, this one with gold eyes and dark hair, pushed past her and walked over to who she would guess was a teammate of his and likely William's.

Even after her rather dramatic outing of her Faunus nature to her teammates, Blake still wore her concealing hairband. Ruby and Yang had both tried to get her to lose it, Ruby because she thought her cat-like ears were cute and Yang because she thought Blake shouldn't hide who she is. Ironically enough, Weiss alone seemed to understand Blake wasn't quite ready to invite questions about her past and why she had hidden her Faunus nature from the rest of their classmates.

Still, even while wearing her bow, her Faunus ears could hear better than a human's. So, she wasn't _really_ eavesdropping on her partner's opponent's teammates. She was just standing there, if they happened to say anything about how William was easily avoiding Yang's attacks that wasn't her fault.

"Argos, how'd you do?"

"Eh, San handed me my ass, as expected. You?"

Dom's voice was somber. "I lost." There was a pause.

"Damn, how are we both that unlucky? Counting the monsters on our squad there's like six or seven people in this thing that could beat us. How the hell did we both end up against one in the first round?" Argos sighed.

Dom didn't respond to that. Blake was beginning to think she wasn't going to learn anything valuable from them when he spoke. "How's Will been doing?"

Argos gave a laugh "He's playing around down there."

"It's not like him to screw around. What's he doing?"

"Well, we _are _supposed to show our skills here, Will's just being really subtle about it."

A long pause followed, before Dom spoke again. "I see it. That's almost cruel really."

"I'm surprised she hasn't caught on yet. It was really obvious at one point. Frankly, it's kinda sad how she keeps trying to shoot him. If this wasn't Will we're talking about, I'd think he was screwing with her on purpose."

So William _was _doing something. And whatever it was, it was making it so Yang couldn't hit him from a distance. But what? Argos said it was subtle… Blake focused back on the battle below, paying close attention to William instead of Yang this time.

As Yang chased him around the ring, she sent another incendiary round at him. Blake's eyes followed as it closed, then whipped past him. Then she saw it. At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, then she saw it happen again and a third time. When the shells got close to William, they seemed to veer off course ever so slightly, even as he dodged away from them.

So that's his secret. He was somehow changing the trajectory of Yang's shots and combining that with quick foot work to avoid everything she threw at him.

"Yang!" She called down to the ring. "He's redirecting your shots! That's why you can't hit him!"

oOoOoOoOo

Yang was getting angry. They'd been fighting for almost five minutes and she hadn't managed to land a single hit on the guy. Even more infuriating, he hadn't so much as counter attacked once, not even drawing his blades. He just kept dodging and retreating from her. And after that first time, he hadn't let himself be caught in a corner either.

Briefly switching tactics, Yang leapt into the air and fired down at him, trying to throw him off balance. He just nimbly evaded each of her shots and sprang away from where she landed. Yang panted as she stood there, keeping her eyes on him. There had to be _some _way to hit him, but she'd tried everything she could think of and she was running out of ammo.

"Yang!" Yang's head snapped up to the balcony when she heard her partner's voice, William's eyes following hers. "He's redirecting your shots! That's why you can't hit him!"

"What!?" Yang hissed, whirling on her opponent, who was staring up at the balcony with narrowed eyes. She snapped her fist up and sent one of her few remaining shells hurtling at him. This time, he didn't dodge it. The shell simply curved along its path and flew right by him. He'd been toying with her the entire time; she hadn't had a chance to hit him from the beginning.

That was the final straw. Yang's anger exploded and she charged forward, fully intending to throttle him with her bare hands. Her fury gave her a surge of speed, enough to _finally _catch him. Or at least, it would have been, had he not sidestepped at least twice as fast as any of his previous dodges. Yang snapped out of her anger when she realized exactly where her momentum would carry her, but it was too late. Her attempt to stop only made her twist and fall, with her momentum making her roll over the edge of the ring and fall onto the floor.

"Ring out! Winner, William!" The referee's call made it official. Yang grumbled as she got off of the ground but paused as William walked over to her. He held out a hand, but she just glared and stood on her own. William cocked his head and spoke for the first time.

"Rage is useful in battle, unless it is using you." He nodded sagely at her bewildered and angry expression before vanishing in a blur of motion. Yang just sighed, her rage dwindling away. Not that the fight was over, she was kinda hungry. She resolved to grab Blake and get some lunch.

oOoOoOoOo

Argos swore as Blondie went tumbling off the ring. Dom glanced at him with a quizzical expression.

"I bet Will twenty Lien he couldn't win without touching his opponent."

Dom wasn't sympathetic. "That's kinda a sucker bet against someone who can manipulate wind, isn't it?"

Argos grunted. "I admit, I was banking on him not fighting a complete rookie in the first round. She didn't even figure his trick out on her own."

Dom just shrugged. "Well, it's a weird one, and it's not exactly overt." His eyes narrowed. "Speaking of, I don't think it was a coincidence her friend saw through it right after we finished talking about it."

"It probably wasn't. She has Faunus ears under that bow of hers, she probably overheard us." Argos took a bit of vindictive pleasure seeing the black haired girl jump out of the corner of his eye.

"Does she? Huh, wonder why she's hiding them."

"Who knows? I'm not crazy enough to try to understand women when it comes to fashion." Argos grinned. "You could probably ask Sara, if you really want to know."

Dom's sputtered response was interrupted by Will appearing beside them. He fixed Argos with a stare.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll pay up. Just not right now cause I only got 21 Lien on me and I still need lunch." Argos tried to bargain.

Will flashed a pair of signs, first one finger, then two.

"Fine." Argos fished a hand into his pocket and pulled out his last ten Lien bill. "I don't see why you need it now." He said as Will snatched it from his hand.

"Probably because it's the only money he's gonna get from you." Dom cut in.

"Bite me."

Will turned to Dom and raised an appraising eyebrow.

"I lost." Damnit, he was still down about that. He probably hadn't bought Argos' whole 'unlucky' spiel. Though to be fair, it hadn't been very convincing. Will, sensing the problem, simply shrugged in a 'what can you do' gesture before turning to face Argos.

"San beat me bloody, heh. One round in and we're already halfway out. I'm gonna go fill San in, you guys wanna come?"

Will patted his stomach, and Dom nodded. "I'm hungry too; maybe I'll swing by later."

"Aight, see ya." Argos walked off, his mind filled with thoughts of how his squad captain would react to the news of the other matches, particularly Dom's.

Seeing the familiar short red hair on the floor below, Argos vaulted the railing and fell the twenty some feet to the ground. Stairs were for chumps.

"Hey San!"

San turned at the call. "You know, since you lost you're not supposed to be down here." San's voice was just shy of reproachful. He was always so damn serious.

"Just felt like keeping you up to date." Argos said as he walked over. "Will won, easily."

"And Dom?"

Argos paused. "He lost."

San swore under his breath. "And with the headmistress watching too… Did you say anything to him?"

"I told him we both got really unlucky with the match selection. Don't think he bought it though."

"And if I went and said anything it would probably only make things worse, wouldn't it?" San sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Probably. Pity just makes the whole thing worse, really." Argos shrugged. "Best case scenario now, whoever beat him goes on to win this whole thing. If they slap you down in the semis, Dom might feel better about losing."

"I don't intend to lose here. If nothing else, Dom could tell if I threw the fight." San folded his arms.

"This is all a moot point if you don't get there." Argos pointed out. "You ready for your next fight?"

He got a snort in response. "I'm fighting a girl too young to even be enrolled in a Hunting academy. Don't be insulting."

"Easy now, San." Argos chided. "Pride goeth and all that."

San didn't have anything to say to that, but his eyes narrowed when he spotted a red cloaked girl walking across the floor.

* * *

Well, this chapter was getting a lot longer than I thought it was going to be, so I split it into two. The next part will be up as soon as I can manage. I'm trying to reach a blend of the characters being the badasses we know and love, but not avoid the fact that they are basically rookies. Since a lot of the enemies they're going to fight are not first year students, there is a skill disparity that needs to be considered. But don't worry, Team RWBY is going to adapt quickly and get right back to kicking ass.


	3. Tournament Part 2

**Chapter 2: The Tournament Part 2**

The arena didn't have a cafeteria so much as it had a smattering of standing tables near the food vendors that people could put their food on while they ate. Currently, they were all occupied by victorious combatants trying to shovel down something before their next match, defeated participants trying to bury their loss with greasy food, and members of the audience with time in between the matches they wanted to see. Blake was one of the latter, and unfortunately for her, her partner was in the second category.

Yang was just picking at the fries and burger she and Blake had each purchased. Blake was doing the same, it wasn't exactly gourmet fare, but she knew Yang's reluctance wasn't from the quality of the food, given how much junk food she ate on a daily basis. The blonde's natural cheerful personality had been dampened by her early loss and even more so by how easily she had been beaten. Despite their relative inexperience, the other members of Team RWBY tended to have great confidence in their abilities. Not that it wasn't somewhat warranted, they were all talented fighters, moreso than most students in their class, true. But even so, they were far from the best Hunters around. A fact that Yang was having a hard time accepting after having it shoved in her face so bluntly.

"We _are_ only first year students." Blake was saying for the third time. "It's not surprising you would lose to someone with a few more years of training."

Yang just continued to sulk. Blake sighed. Her partner's usual exuberance was often draining, but seeing her down in the dumps was enough to make Blake want it back. Thankfully, after these last few months, she knew what buttons to press.

"Are you going to be like this for the rest of the day? I could get used to the peace and quiet." She said, keeping all but a shadow of a grin off her face.

The jab got the expected response. Yang stood up straighter, and lilac eyes met Blake's amber ones. "Well," She started. "I'm just so upset that I lost… Maybe you could distract me from it somehow." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively and laughed when Blake just rolled her eyes and flicked a greasy fry at her face. Yang had a thick skin that didn't let things really get to her, much unlike their teammates, who were easily provoked to outrage and uncertainty respectively. That thick skin made her relatively easy to cheer up. Drop a joke and give her the chance to make her own and she'd revert to form easily.

Sure enough, Yang's appetite had returned and she began to tuck into her food with gusto, even 'stealthily' grabbing a few of Blake's own fries before the Faunus gave in and slid the container over to Yang's side of the table. Yang said something around a mouthful of food, the exact words being muffled by the hamburger she was eating. Blake assumed it was thanks.

"Not that I'm not hungry," Blake had decided she wasn't so hungry she couldn't wait until after the tournament to eat. "But isn't Ruby's match starting soon?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Yang admitted sheepishly. She quickly shoveled what was left of her meal into her mouth. She made to walk back to the arena, before a pointed glance from Blake got her to return for her trash and lob it into a nearby trashcan. Then they both headed over to the seating. As they settled in, Yang glanced at the screen overhead.

"So, who's this Sanguin guy?"

"I'm not sure, we'll have to wait and see."

They didn't have to wait long. Barely two minutes later the referee was calling Ruby and Sanguin to the ring. When a young man with in black clothes climbed the steps up to the ring, Blake noticed the similarity between his outfit and William's and remembered the conversation between William's teammates about one of them losing a fight to a 'San'.

"I think he's William's teammate. Or at least they go to the same school." When Yang looked at her with a confused expression, Blake clarified. "They're wearing the same uniform."

"They are, aren't they?" Yang frowned for half a second before rising up in her seat and cheering. "Gooo Ruby! Beat him senseless and avenge your big sis!"

Blake just sighed and rested her face on one of her hands. It seemed Yang wasn't _quite_ ready to let her loss go.

oOoOoOoOo

Despite her dry throat and sweaty palms, Ruby definitely wasn't nervous. Definitely. Even if she was the only member of Team RWBY to actually make it into the second round, even if her opponent was clearly incredibly skilled, why would she be nervous? It wasn't like she had to win for her teammates' sake, after they had lost or anything like that. No pressure.

"Gooo Ruby! Beat him senseless and avenge your big sis!" Yang's powerful voice echoed down to the ring.

Well, so much for that idea.

Anyway, even if Yang was actually were counting on her to win, she had a strategy lined up to handle Sanguin. His fight with Argos had shown he had good up close and personal fighting skills and he didn't seem to have any way of attacking from a distance. All she needed to do was stay back and hit him with Crescent Rose's sniper rifle.

"Are you ready?" The referee's words intruded into her musings.

"Y-yeah." Ruby stammered, still a little distracted.

"Yes." Sanguin's firm voice seemed like he was trying to provide a direct contrast to her nervousness.

"Begin!"

Sanguin sprang forward, launching a slash that would have caught her in the throat had she not launched herself into the air with a shot from Crescent Rose. As she arced through the air, she brought her baby to bear and fired a few rounds at her opponent. Though Sanguin managed to avoid the shots, his evasion had moved him to the opposite side of the ring as where she landed. He jumped away from the next volley of shots, and as he landed Ruby noticed a second too late the faint glow coming from his feet. His legs seemed to almost explode with a bang, propelling him across the ring with blinding speed. It took all of her trademark speed for Ruby to evade his attack by darting away toward the center of the ring. She had barely managed to set her feet before something slammed into her stomach and threw her onto her back.

As she tried to cough some air back into her lungs, it took Ruby a few moments to work out what had happened. Sanguin had gathered his Aura into his feet and released the energy to propel himself across the ring faster than he could otherwise move, a straightforward, if difficult, maneuver. However, while Ruby had assumed he had done the standard technique and used both his legs for that movement, it seemed he had used only the Aura from one of them and used the Aura in his other leg to launch himself again, while she had thought that she had evaded the attack.

With a jolt, Ruby realized Crescent Rose wasn't lying on the ground with her. She quick rose to her feet, frantically looking for the lost scythe. She found it, in Sanguin's hand. With a sinking feeling she remembered his first match and how he had disarmed Argos. That blow to her stomach was the same as before, to get her to reflexively loosen her grip. Looking her straight in the eyes, he tossed her baby off the side of the ring. Ruby grit her teeth at the blatant disrespect to her weapon, but bit back a retort when Argos, who was watching the match from the side of the ring, unerringly snatched Crescent Rose out of the air and rested it gently on his shoulder. Sanguin's voice dragged her attention back to him.

"I'll give you one chance to give up now."

Ruby's mouth twisted in defiance. She may have been disarmed, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Sanguin sighed at the expression on her face before returning his ninjato to its sheath on his back.

"As you wish."

What followed was an embarrassingly short and painfully one-sided fistfight between the two of them. To her credit, Ruby did manage to throw a few punches, though none that weren't easily dodged or blocked. As she fell onto her back, the referee called the match due to Aura depletion. The sheer fact that he had managed to beat her Aura into the red with his bare hands stung almost as much as the beating did. As she lay there, indulging in a rare moment of self-pity while various parts of her body submitted complaints about their recent treatment, a hand intruded into her line of vision. Ruby gave a half-hearted glare at her fellow red head, before accepting the hand and being pulled to her feet.

"If you're going to fight with such a large weapon, I suggest you learn some unarmed fighting skills too. It could save your life in a situation where you can't use your weapon fully." Sanguin offered some advice.

"Um, thanks, I guess." Ruby was a little offput by the man who had just recently beaten her into the ground offering her tips. She didn't really know how to respond other than just standing there. Thankfully, the awkward moment was interrupted when Argos hopped up into the ring and held out Crescent Rose to her.

"Here you go. I'm not sure how to make this… not huge anymore, though."

Ruby took her scythe and folded it up and tucked it away in a single motion. The trio departed the ring, and Argos broke the silence again.

"That was a pretty good, for someone too young to even be at an academy you've got some serious skills."

"Hey! I am an academy student." Ruby indignantly protested. She hated being treated like a child. "I'm a team leader at Beacon."

"Wait, how old are you?" Sanguin's voice sounded curious, one of the first emotions she had seen him display. The entire time he'd been fighting her he'd looked like his face had been chiseled from stone. Sure enough, when she glanced over at him, he still had the same impassive and serious look on his face. Maybe she had misheard his tone or something.

"I'm fifteen. I got into Beacon two years early."

"You got into _Beacon_ two years early?" Argos' disbelief was clear. "Damn."

"Impressive." Sanguin agreed.

By now they had reached the stairs to the spectator section. Argos turned and gave Ruby a lopsided grin.

"Well, this is where we part ways. We'll see each other around." He turned and with a single leap had scaled all the way to the balcony above them. Sanguin had already turned away as well and was walking over to one of the rest benches against the wall. With a shrug, Ruby started to climb the stairs, deciding to go find Weiss and maybe wheedle her into buying Ruby some cookies.

oOoOoOoOo

Under normal circumstances, Glynda Goodwitch rather liked watching tournaments like the Vytal Festival's. An interest in combat techniques in action was one of the main reasons she became a Huntress teacher, after all. Getting to observe her students, and other young people, pitting themselves against each other, revealing their strengths and weaknesses, was always an interesting experience. She frequently used those observations in her lessons, both by noticing areas where her students needed improvement and particularly interesting tricks and techniques she could adopt for her own lessons. As she told many of her overconfident fourth years, one was never too skilled to learn something new.

Unfortunately, her enjoyment of the tournament was being soured by her current company. Sitting to her left was Professor Ozpin, her employer, who was usually pleasant company, if a bit eccentric from time to time. However, today his presence was decidedly not appreciated, entirely due to the person he had insisted join them in the upper level viewing box.

Abigail Woden, headmistress of Umbra Academy and long-time 'friendly' professional rival of Ozpin's had for unspecified reasons traveled all the way from Noxis with a team of her students who were participating in the tournament. Glynda was fairly certain she knew why, too. Beacon and Umbra have had ideological differences in how they trained their students almost since both academies had existed. There was also the popularity Beacon and Ozpin possessed on a global scale, with the uninformed often assuming that Beacon was the only truly good Hunting academy and Ozpin was an integral leader of Hunters worldwide. Those two elements combined to give Headmistress Woden a burning desire to prove the superiority of her training methods over Ozpin's, to what Glynda had always considered a dangerously unprofessional level.

Sure enough, Woden was practically radiating smug satisfaction when her students triumphed over Beacon students, despite the obvious disparity between the members of Team RWBY and the young men of this "Shadow Squad's" levels of education and training. The look on her face made Glynda want to say some things that would not be considered polite, and it took a good deal of effort to curb that impulse. Ozpin, on the other hand, was almost completely sedate.

"It seems that your students are rather talented, as expected." He commented, as they watched the one named Sanguin efficiently dispatch his third opponent of the day, a young Faunus man with a particularly complicated weapon.

"They are." Woden's silky voice replied. "Your students have had good showings thus far too." _But not good enough,_ the unspoken words were.

"Indeed. I can only assume the other two of your Shadow Squad have a similar level of skill." Ozpin replied. _I have to assume, since they both lost their first fight. _

"Truly unfortunate, that two of them would be pitted against each other in the first round. Still, their match was an impressive one." _That one fight has more than proven how talented they are._

"I was more surprised at the other match." _The one where Dominic lost handedly. _

Woden didn't respond to that. Though she had tried to mask her reaction to the first round loss of one of her students, the gritting of her teeth made it clear she took personal offense. She had attempted to dismiss it due to the nature of his opponent, but Glynda suspected that she was once again trying to "prove" Umbra's superiority to Beacon and took her student's loss as him failing her personally. Though he was the only one. For all her distaste for their school's headmistress, Glynda had to concede that those young men were skilled fighters, moreso than most students at _any_ academy would be. Even so, the real reason Ozpin had wanted to attend this tournament made it exceedingly unlikely that either of the remaining two would be able to actually win. Or rather, the person Ozpin wanted to see.

oOoOoOoOo

As it turned out, cookies were not available from the arena vendors, but there was ice cream on offer. Weiss had lambasted Ruby for forgetting to bring enough money but begrudgingly agreed to get her some after the team leader had started to pleading. (She'd never admit that she was only doing it to try to cheer up her somewhat despondent leader.) Blake and Yang had joined them, and now all four were enjoying the frozen confectionaries while they watched some of the remaining matches from the stands.

"I just want to point out; the guy who beat me is still in this thing." Yang was saying, referencing the dog Faunus who had just won his fourth round match and progressed into the semifinals.

"Yeah, well so is mine." Ruby retorted.

"Guys, please. Let's not talk about our fights." Weiss tried to head off the usual childish bickering between the two sisters.

"Says the person who lost to someone who is _not_ still competing." Yang said.

Weiss' face reddened in anger. "Oh please. Like you would have done any better against the best student in our class."

"Thanks for the compliment, Weiss." Said student's voice issued from the aisle. Weiss turned to see Pyrrha and Jaune standing there. "Would you guys mind scooting down?"

"Sure thing." Ruby chirped as she and her team made room. She looked quizzically at the two members of JNPR. "Where are Ren and Nora?"

Jaune spoke. "They're still eating. Well, Nora is. It's kinda scary how much she can put away."

"I still can't believe even you lost in the third round." Yang said to Pyrrha. "I always kinda figured you were going to win this whole thing."

Pyrrha opened her mouth, likely to humbly demur, when Jaune spoke first. "Well, it's not like she had a chance to win that fight anyway."

Weiss probably wouldn't have been more shocked if it suddenly started to rain Grimm, and judging by the looks on her teammates' faces, neither would they. Pyrrha looked more hurt than shocked and with good reason. After spending most of her free time for the past several weeks helping Jaune not flunk out of Beacon, _that_ was entirely uncalled for.

Jaune realized the effect his words had had on his companions. "What? It's true. I mean, you do know who that was, right?"

Blake glanced up at the brackets on the overhead screen. "Theron Samia?"

"Yeah!" Jaune said, as if that explained everything. When their expressions made it clear it didn't, he elaborated. "Guys, Theron Samia is probably the best Huntsman on the continent. He enrolled in Beacon two years early and had graduated after only two years of school. He's racked up more confirmed Grimm kills in five years than most Hunters do in twenty." He shrugged. "Pyrrha's an amazing fighter, but even she can't win against a monster like that."

Pyrrha turned her head away from him in what Weiss thought was unplacated anger, until she saw the red head's cheeks matched her hair. It seemed the Mistralian girl was embarrassed by Jaune's frank praise, perhaps a bit more than she should be. _There's no accounting for taste. _The heiress haughtily decided. Something was nagging her though, and it took a few seconds for her to figure out what.

"Wait, how did you know next to nothing about one of the top athletes at Beacon, but you do know all these random facts about this Theron fellow?"

"Uh, well I…" Jaune rambled, clearly embarrassed about something. He cleared his throat "He was kinda my inspiration. I mean, I came to Beacon cause of my family history and all, but Theron was who I wanted to be, ya know?"

Pyrrha, whose face had ceased to resemble a tomato, spoke. "I think it's important to have a goal to reach. And the higher the goal, the farther you'll climb to get there."

She smiled at Jaune, who returned a grin. They held each other's gaze for a few long moments before they both looked away, their faces flushed.

_Great, why'd _I _have to sit next to the love birds? _Weiss groused in the privacy of her own mind. To distract herself, she started to watch the repurposing work down below. After the conclusion of the fourth round, the multiple rings in the arena were being removed and replaced with a single one, which would be hosting the two semifinal matches and the final one. Those matches were… Weiss glanced up at the screen. William vs. Theron Samia and Sanguin vs. _Penny_!?

"How did that klutz get into the semifinals?" Weiss wondered aloud. Ruby, who was sitting next to her, bumped her in the ribs.

"I told Weiss, she's actually really strong and has all these crazy swords that go everywhere and she has lasers Weiss, lasers I tell you!" As if that settled everything.

"Even so, I hardly think that someone who-"

"_Lasers, _Weiss."

She just sighed, "Whatever you say, Ruby."

"Why don't you just watch the matches and see, princess?" Yang chimed in. "The first one's about to start."

oOoOoOoOo

San appeared to be watching carefully as Will and Theron squared off, but really his mind was awhirl. Truth be told, he didn't think it would be possible for either Will or him to actually defeat someone as skilled as _the_ Theron single combat. The man was famed for being practically invincible, and for being able to wade through hordes of Grimm and come out the other side with barely a scratch on him. All said and done, that man was a serious contender for being the greatest Huntsman in the world, which was rather troubling.

_What's a man like that doing in a tournament like this?_ It didn't make sense to him. The presence of such a powerful Huntsman here could be because he wanted to flaunt his talent, or get to observe some up and coming warriors or any of a hundred perfectly innocuous reasons. Or, there was a less innocent reason for his presence.

_How much does he know? Did he learn our purpose here? Did Ozpin find out something and call in his strongest subordinate to have him on hand? Is this display at the tournament meant to be a threat, or just a way for Ozpin to show up Umbra students with his own champion? _San was well aware he knew precious little about the situation, which worried him. It was possible that there was nothing to be concerned about, that everything was proceeding just as they had planned, but since he was a "suspicious bastard" as Argos had succinctly put it, he was still going to keep his eyes peeled.

Speaking of which, he turned his attention back to the developing match. Will was fighting defensively, using his strongest quality, his speed, to keep a healthy distance from Theron's twin spears. Indeed, watching closely, it seemed as though instead of trying to use his higher mobility to create an opening he could use to attack with, the longer the fight progressed the more it was clear Will's real goal was to keep Theron chasing after him. Given the slightly confused expression on Theron's face, he had already realized that too. It seemed he still didn't understand who he was really fighting.

It would indeed be impossible for Will or San to win on their own, but they weren't necessarily fighting alone here. San remembered Will's words right before he went to the ring.

_I'll run him ragged, and you finish him off._

So far, the strategy appeared to be working. Theron had to spend a disproportionate amount of effort to keep within attacking distance of the usually quick Will. Thankfully, Will was fast enough to dodge the thrown spears, his redirection trick required empty hands and Theron was fast enough that that was suicide. There was a moment when Theron had first thrown one of his spears where Will had been taken by surprise by his ability to recover it due to metal wires that attached the spear to his bracer, but after that Will had only taken glancing hits.

However, it didn't last. Stamina was never Will's strong suit and he began to lag. Theron wasn't the kind of enemy who would miss such an opening and brought the battle to a close with a flurry of spear strikes. Still, though his Aura was largely untouched, Theron was breathing heavily, and physical exhaustion was a much greater danger to a warrior than a lack of Aura in battle, especially to someone with a large amount of experience.

Will got off the ground, nodded an acknowledgement to Theron and walked over to where San was. Only their years of knowing each other let San see how heavy his stride was. _He really did run to his absolute limit. _

As Will reached him, San stood off the bench he was waiting on. He met Will's look with a nod. "I'll win quickly, so he won't have any time to rest."

Will nodded gratefully and sank onto the bench, still looking quite composed but to San's eyes it was clear he could barely stand any longer. San set off for the ring with a purposeful stride. His eyes narrowed as he glanced over at the young orange haired girl that was to be his opponent. Even though he had said that, he remembered his earlier conversation with Argos. This was the same girl who had beaten Dom and it would probably be best for his squadmate's self-esteem if she proved her ability by beating him as well. But then, Dom would never be fooled if San lost on purpose or went easy on her, so San would have to settle for the satisfaction of pounding her into the ground. It probably didn't say good things about his character, but after seeing Dom's downcast expression and Will's exhaustion, he wanted to hit something.

He joined Penny and the referee in the ring and slid his sword free of its sheath. Penny likewise readied her own weapons.

_A fan of blades, controlled by wires. Just like Dom said. _A dangerous and unpredictable method of fighting, it was easy to see why Dom's fighting style would have problems with her. San's own way of fighting wasn't a perfect matchup either, but he _would_ win all the same.

oOoOoOoOo

"Are you _sure_ Penny is up to this?" Weiss was asking Ruby. "That guy seems out of her league."

"I'm telling you Weiss, she's got all kinds of crazy moves. She handled Torchwick and his goons easily." Ruby winced a second later, remembering Blake's former allegiance and realizing that referring to White Fang members as "goons" probably wasn't the best way to put it. Blake kept staring at the match, although if that was from not hearing her or ignoring her Ruby couldn't say.

"I just don't think being able to defeat a pack of undisciplined thugs necessarily makes you able to defeat an actually trained warrior."

"She's already made it this far, I think she's more than capable." Blake said.

Weiss just hmphed. "We'll see."

Ruby herself was fairly certain Penny could handle Sanguin, and Penny was keeping him at a distance where he couldn't attack her, but she remembered how easily he turned the tables on her.

"I don't know." She said aloud. "I feel like he might have a trick up his sleeve."

oOoOoOoOo

San was in fact running out of tricks. This Penny girl fought like a warrior with several years of experience, which if his estimation of her age was accurate meant she had started serious warrior training at around age eight. There were only a few minutes of the match left, and he still couldn't get around those damn swords on the damn wires!

_Swords on _wires_._ _Hmm, there's a thought. _The inklings of an idea bloomed in his head. He thought quickly, fully formulating it, assessing its worth, and working through its flaws. It took him about ten seconds to have a plan built around the initial idea. Now it was time to put it into action.

Penny was keeping most of her swords dancing around her, moving in patterns that made their motion hard to track. In addition, she never sent all of them to attack at once, keeping back several for defense. Getting close would merely concentrate all the swords around her, so he would need to withdraw a bit. As he bounded back, she sent a trio of swords hurtling at him.

_Perfect._

He dodged to the left, and let the swords pass by him. Then, he stretched out his empty hand and grabbed hold of the wires. The surprised look on her face was encouraging; she clearly wasn't expecting this kind of attack. Seizing the initiative, San pulled on the wires as hard as he could, yanking her off her feet and into the air. Instead of flying toward him, however, she jerked to a stop in midair. She had anchored herself by wedging four of her blades into the ground. Not to abandon his momentum, San threw his sword end over end at her, intending to catch her in the head. Penny blocked it by making a barrier with three of her own swords.

_Gotcha._ With three in his hand, four anchoring her, and three guarding from his thrown sword, she didn't have any left to protect herself. Even as their blades collided, he was already moving. Using his Aura to boost his speed, he shot towards Penny, ducking low to avoid the barrier she had made. He hit her low, and with all her effort being into keeping her from being yanked forward, the force of his momentum drove them both backwards over the edge of the ring.

That was exactly what San had been aiming for. Even though they would both fall out, Penny was underneath him and would land first, meaning he'd win. Something Penny seemed to realize, as in the spilt second before they landed she twisted in his grip, turning them both. San landed hard on his shoulder, years of training making him automatically roll to his feet.

_Wait, if I landed on my shoulder… Did her twisting make me land first? _He looked up at the screen, where the fight's footage was being replayed. In high definition slow motion, he saw him and Penny slowly inch to the ground, until both of them impacted at the exact same time.

"It's a draw!" The announcer declared. There was some cheering from the audience, but most just seemed confused as to what that outcome would mean for the final match. There was a pause while the officials discussed it with themselves. San found himself surprisingly concerned with what they decided, even if his participation in this tournament was only as a cover.

"Aw, phooey." San turned at the words to see Penny still sitting where she had fallen. "I really wanted to win."

"You did." When this got him a confused look, San continued. "My last-ditch, desperation move only got me a draw, and only because of the tournament's rules. In a real battle, I would have lost to you."

He held out a hand and reminded himself to smile. "This was a good fight. I'll have to train harder and fight you again sometime."

Penny perked up a little at that. "Sure thing! I'll be waiting!"

"Since neither of the contestants progressed past this round," The officials had apparently finished their deliberations. "Theron Samia wins the final round by default, and is the Vytal Tournament champion!"

A chorus of boos greeted the announcement from fans who felt cheated of getting to see a final match, but San had suspected that this would be the outcome. He saw Argos waving to him from the stands, so with a final nod to Penny, San departed the floor. When he reached the upper level, Argos had been joined by Will and Dom.

"Sorry guys, I messed up. Looks like all your work preparing Theron was for nothing, Will. Sorry."

Will just shrugged, and Dom ran his hand through his hair. "She beat me too, that one is just tricky to fight. I didn't even have the opportunity to use my knives on her, she strikes so fast."

"And your knives are half of how you fight." Argos said to Dom. "Just wasn't our day, I guess."

"Yeah." Dom agreed. He jerked his thumb at one of the viewing boxes. "The headmistress wanted to see us as soon as this was over. We might as well go now."

"Right." San said. His expression darkened. "We're on mission from here on out, guys. Stay alert, stay under the radar, and keep your mouths shut." The last bit he directed at Argos.

"Yeah, yeah I got it. Jeez. Why you only jumping on me?"

"Probably because you botched the mission security at Polisia." Dom said drily.

"That was one time! You guys need to let those things go."

San didn't get involved in their banter. The waiting for missions like these was nerve-wracking enough that trying to infiltrate Beacon seemed like it would be pleasant in comparison. Which is what he was hoping, since that was that first part of their _real_ reason for coming to Vale.

* * *

Well, I hope you guys liked all the fighting, but if you didn't that's fine too, since most of that's done for now. I'll hopefully have the next chapter out faster than this one, depending on my work schedule.


	4. Moving In

**Moving In**

There were a large number of people who were dissatisfied with the tournament's outcome, and the air was filled with their grumbling. Yang, unfortunately, was among them.

"Well, _that_ was a letdown." She was saying. Her sister apparently didn't agree.

"Are you kidding? That fight was amazing. Penny almost kicked his ass."

"Yeah, who'd have thought she had it in her?"

Ruby scoffed. "I'd told you guys she was good, but nooooo you just wouldn't listen to me."

Blake weighed in. "To be fair, if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it either."

"I take it that girl is a friend of yours?" Pyrrha asked.

"_Friend _is probably stretching it." Weiss said. She didn't have any desire to be associated with that socially inept klutz, incredible combat skills or no. Her partner didn't share her caution, just like almost everything else. Thankfully, Blake and Yang were intelligent enough to pick up on the warning signs, even if they couldn't convince Ruby that hanging around Penny was a really bad idea. Speaking of which…

"It's kind of sad. She's kinda awkward and I don't think she gets out a lot. She just needs some friends." Ruby was saying.

"I think there's a good reason she doesn't get out much _or _have any friends." Weiss muttered. Like the fact that she appeared to be insane.

"Don't be mean, Weiss." Yang said. "Maybe if she hung out with some people, she'd be more… normal."

"Are you volunteering?" Weiss asked sardonically.

"Hell no. Just saying."

"Just saying what?"

Weiss wouldn't admit she jumped when she heard that voice directly behind her. Considering everyone already saw, it wouldn't have really made a difference. She spun around to face Penny, who had once again appeared out of nowhere.

"Where did you come from?" Weiss indignantly asked.

"The stairs." Penny said, with an innocence that if Weiss didn't know her she would swear was feigned.

"How're you doing, Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Just fine, thank you! I am a little disappointed I was unable to be victorious, but it was only my sixth time fighting outside of practice. I am sure I will do better next time."

Weiss did some quick mental math. Counting the incident a few days ago, and the five tournament matches, that meant Penny had _never _fought outside of practice sessions until a few days ago. That was a hard idea to reconcile with her clearly apparent skill level. Her companions had made the same assessment.

"That's really impressive, I'm sure you'll grow into a fine Huntress." Pyrrha said. Surprisingly, Penny seemed almost saddened by the praise.

"That is not going to happen." Penny said. There was a moment of awkward silence before her bizarre enthusiasm returned. "Ruby, is this another of your friends?"

"Uh, yeah. This is Pyrrha and Jaune." Ruby pointed to them in turn.

"Salutations! My name is Penny."

"We know." Jaune said, clearly offput, but Pyrrha managed to keep her composure. She smiled, though a bit uncertainly. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Penny's mouth quirked. "If we are both Ruby's friend, does that mean we are friends too?"

Behind Penny, Weiss shook her head and mouthed "No" but Pyrrha must not have seen her because the redhead said "Sure, that sounds lovely."

Penny looked gleeful. "Wonderful! I have even more friends now. Today is not such a bad day after all!"

Jaune didn't seem as happy as his new friend and looked like he was trying to find a way to politely leave the conversation. Weiss couldn't fault him for that; she was trying to do the same thing. Pity her partner didn't share that conviction.

"So Penny, do you wanna hang out for a little bit?"

If Penny had looked happy before, now she was downright ecstatic. "Hang out? I would love to! What should we do first? Talk to cute boys, or try on-"

"Penny!" A firm voice echoed from down below. Penny jumped like she had been scalded and turned to the direction it came from. Weiss followed her gaze and saw a man in a suit looking up at them disapprovingly. Penny turned back to the group.

"I am sorry, friends, but I have to go now. Maybe we can hang out later?" She looked so forlorn in that moment, like her puppy had just died, that Weiss felt compelled to say something.

"Sure, whenever you're free."

Penny lit up again and with a final farewell she jumped out of the stand and landed down by the man in the suit. Weiss faced her teammates, only to see some odd expressions on their faces. "What?"

"I didn't think you would be the one to suggest we spend more time with her." Blake said, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"I was just trying to get her to leave." Weiss claimed, her face reddening.

Yang snorted. "Suuuure you were."

"_Anyway_." Weiss changed the subject. "What _are _we going to do now?"

"I could go for something to eat." Yang said, shocking no one.

Blake nodded her agreement. "It would be nice to eat something that isn't cafeteria food for once."

Jaune ran a hand through his hair. "Pyrrha and I should probably go find Ren and Nora, I doubt they will still be hungry." Weiss almost thought he was trying to get some alone time with Pyrrha, but Jaune's awareness was so poor she was fairly certain he had no idea about her feelings. The duo walked off, and she returned to the matter at hand.

"So, dinner then?"

Ruby frowned, surprisingly. "I don't know… I was thinking I might head back, get some practice in."

Yang's jaw dropped and for some reason she rounded on Weiss. "Schnee, what have you done to my sister?"

"What are you talking about? I haven't _done_ anything. And even if I had, it wouldn't kill the members of this team to develop a better work ethic."

Ruby cut off Yang's rebuttal. "I'm just not hungry, guys." Which would have been a lot more convincing if her stomach hadn't started growling a second later. Ruby flushed. "Er, what I mean is… I just felt like training."

Weiss didn't believe that for a second, but Blake seemed willing to give Ruby the benefit of the doubt. "How about we go get some food, then you can go train after? There will still be a few hours for you to use the training rooms."

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Ruby led the way down the stairs, chattering with Yang and Blake about what restaurants were in the area and which one they should go to. Weiss trailed behind them, thinking about her team leader's reluctance. It wasn't like Ruby to turn down good food, especially, she realized with a grimace, food Weiss was going to have to pay for. Was she depressed about losing in the tournament and being driven to improve as a result? It didn't seem that way, and the idea of the cheerful, energetic, Ruby being depressed seemed absurd.

_What's going on in that head of yours?_ Weiss thought at Ruby's back. Yang's voice intruded into her thoughts.

"Hey, Weiss. Ruby and I are broke, so you won't mind getting the bill, right?"

Weiss just sighed.

oOoOoOoOo

She was probably being paranoid, but the combination of the identical black uniforms, the way the four of them had filed into Ozpin's office and automatically stood at attention, and, of course, their name, made Glynda feel as if Shadow Squad was a lot more military than was entirely appropriate for a group of students. She had to remind herself not to hold that against the four young men; she was well aware Umbra training regiments stressed discipline and professionalism. The squad's members themselves seemed like if not agreeable then at least reasonable young men. Argos had an amiable expression, as if this all amused him somehow. Glynda pegged him as the group's jokester, though for a group this serious he didn't need to be too wild to fit that role. Dominic looked more serious, but his repeated quick glimpses to the headmistress betrayed his nervousness. One look at his features showed why, as well as explained Woden's incensed reaction to his early defeat. William's neutral expression hadn't changed since he had walked in. Glynda got the impression he was quiet because he had nothing to say and had a calm face because he had no feelings towards the events in front of him one way or the other. All in all, they appeared to be not much different from the majority of students she taught, each with their own quirks.

The squad's captain, however, was the exception. Sanguin looked every inch a professional warrior, from his rigid, controlled body language to his grim expression. That sort of seriousness was uncommon for someone his age and it made Glynda think dark thoughts about the kind of experiences that would make a twenty year old young man so dour, experiences she attributed to the demands of leading a team through Umbra's already harsh schooling. It was when she had met his eyes, however, that she became truly unnerved.

He had the same look she'd seen in the eyes of Hunters who had been in combat for several years longer than was healthy. The eyes of someone who's found a home in combat and would surround himself with foes for fun, fighting until his body gave out for reason other than that he could.

Glynda decidedly did not want Sanguin anywhere near her, or any of her students. Unfortunately, Professor Ozpin did not share that reluctance.

"So these are the students that are transferring to Beacon. Their skills more than qualify them for a place at my school, but I am curious as to why you're permitting it. You haven't shown much appreciation for my school's teaching methods in the past."

Headmistress Woden nodded. "True, and in normal circumstances for normal students I would indeed oppose this transfer, I won't deny that. However, Shadow Squad is an exception to the rule. They have already completed large portions of their fourth year curriculum, and instead of retreading ground they have already covered, Sanguin has requested that his squad be allowed to transfer to Beacon. When they become Huntsmen, they will be working alongside Beacon graduates just as much as Umbra ones and he desires to learn the skills and methods of your students to better improve cooperation and efficiency in their professional careers."

Glynda didn't believe that story for a second. Woden was never one to admit to any flaws in her training methods, not even ones that were glaringly obvious. Furthermore, the story didn't explain why she felt the need to transfer them over mid-semester either. Even if she had perfectly believed every word, the surprised expressions and glances between Argos and Dominic were suspicious enough. Ozpin gave no reaction to all this, but Glynda didn't think for one second that he hadn't noticed it. Whatever his reasons were, if he was going to ignore it, then she would too, so as to not jeopardize whatever his plan was.

"Well then, you are to be commended for the thoroughness you seek from your education, Mr.…?" He said to Sanguin.

"Sanguin. Just Sanguin." Came a terse reply.

Woden stepped in. "It is a practice among Umbra students to relinquish their surnames while they are in training. We've found that diminishing family ties and other previous attachments helps to make our squads more tightly knit. Admittedly, most do reassume their names upon graduation, but the squad closeness is retained anyway."

Glynda shook her head. Yet another way Woden tried to change her students from people into perfect little tin soldiers. Teams could be plenty close without having to pretend they were all family-less and alone without each other. The slight twitch of Ozpin's mouth indicated he agreed with her, but again, he didn't press the issue.

"I see. And how long do they intend to spend observing our methods?" He asked.

"As long as the squad captain feels necessary. I'll let him be the judge of his squadmates' progress rather than set an arbitrary limit on their time."

Ozpin nodded, but his response was cut short by the sound of the door opening, and one of Glynda's favorite former students walking in.

"You wanted to speak to me, Profess- oh. I didn't realize you had company." Theron looked slightly abashed at walking in them.

"It's not a problem; we were just wrapping up our discussion."

"We were?" Glynda wasn't so certain of that.

"Yes." Ozpin said simply. "I'm approving the transfer request. Would you be so kind as to see these young men to the dorms and find them suitable accommodations?"

Woden allowed a dark smile, but Glynda wasn't about to let it drop.

"Sir, are you completely sure-"

"I've made my decision, Professor Goodwitch." Ozpin said firmly.

"Yes, sir." She knew a dismissal when she heard one. She walked with the Umbra members down to the school landing zone, were the young men began to unload their luggage. She was distracted from the bustle by a ping from her scroll, alerting her to a new message. As she opened it, she had to fight her mouth twisting in annoyance. Ozpin had sent her a class schedule for Shadow Squad. That he had one ready so promptly meant he had always intended to approve their transfer. The meeting upstairs had been a formality. She idly paged through it until her mind started to register the words she was reading. This time, she had to keep her mouth from curling into a smile.

oOoOoOoOo

San had already unloaded his gear and was watching as Dom and Argos struggled to free one of Dom's cases from the pile without jostling the contents when he stiffened from the presence that had approached from behind him. He relaxed when he heard the headmistress' voice, but only a little.

"Remember, if you should fail, the consequences wi-"

"We won't fail." He said, with the conviction of an absolute fact.

"I know, I have the utmost faith in you." She withdrew before Goodwitch could notice.

_I'm the wrong person to say that to._ San mused, looking at Dom, who was chewing out Argos for just yanking the case free and possibly damaging the computer components inside. Even while on a mission, he still brought along his technological toys. Of course, considering the origin of the radio and tracking devices in San's bag, he wouldn't object to any other tinkering on his squamate's part, especially if it got rid of that static problem his radio had developed lately.

When everything was unloaded, the headmistress gave a farewell that consisted of nothing more than a nod to them before climbing in the bullhead and firing up the engines. As the craft disappeared into the horizon, Goodwitch cleared her throat.

"If you have everything, I'll show you to your room." She turned on her heel and strode off without waiting for a reply.

_That one either doesn't like us, is suspicious of us, or both. _He saw the look in her eyes Ozpin had approved their attendance, like she couldn't believe he was letting them in. It was probably just Beacon-Umbra tensions, but he'd be keeping an eye on her.

They walked in silence, drawing a few looks from students who were probably curious about their luggage. People joining a school three months into a semester were rare, that was one of the reasons he had objected to that particular cover story. Ozpin had permitted it, sure, but San was not convinced he wasn't just giving them enough rope to hang themselves with.

His suspicious thoughts persisted until they had reached their new dorm room. Goodwitch opened the door and was about to let them in when Argos decided he hadn't been enough of a smartass today.

"Wait," he said as he looked through the door. "Is this _our_ room? Do we have to share it or something?"

Goodwitch looked at him like he was a particularly ungrateful ant. "Yes, all members of each team live in the same room."

"No, I mean do we have to share with another squad?" Argos feigned confusion.

Now Glynda looked confused. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Well, this room is so large, I just assumed."

"Man, you know what happens when you assume." Dom chimed in.

"Actually I don't, but you just did."

San fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, as that would be unprofessional, and the much stronger urge to smack Argos upside the head, as that had never actually accomplished anything in the past. He settled for sighing under his breath and pushing past Argos into the room. Truth be told, it _was_ a lot larger than their room back at Umbra had been. Of course, in the mountains space was limited but he was well aware Umbra's living conditions were unpleasant on purpose. 'Hardship breeds hard men, and hard men survive' is what Professor Zeus liked to say, often before doing things like sending squads on multi-day hunts with no food, or making one student fight three, blindfolded.

The others filed in after him, with Goodwitch hovering at the doorway. "You'll be expected at classes tomorrow, so I suggest you familiarize yourselves with your new schedules. I'll bring by a printed copy for you later."

"Professor?" Dom held up his scroll. "If you have it on your scroll, we can just transfer it over now."

"If you'd like." She tapped a few buttons and a 'ping' issued from Dom's scroll. "If there's anything unclear to you, don't hesitate to ask." She turned and left, shutting the door behind her.

San waited as the footsteps receded down the hall, before nodding to Argos. The spearman closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them a few seconds later, and the now almost shining blue eyes quickly roved around the room, covering everything with his gaze. After a few tense seconds, he blinked and his eyes' brilliance faded.

"Nothing."

"You're sure?" San asked.

"Yup. No recording or observational devices of any kind. Just like I said there wouldn't be."

"Doesn't hurt to check." Dom supplied.

"Doesn't hurt you, maybe." Argos fired back, while rubbing his eyes. "Using my Eyes is a pain in the ass, especially when it's just to resolve your paranoia."

"Can it." San cut in. "We're on mission now, start acting like it."

"Yeah, but acting like we're not on mission is part of the mission." Argos replied glibly. "Speaking of which, I was unaware that this was all your idea."

San shook his head. "Ozpin would never believe the headmistress wanted us to come here, the original desire had to come from someone else."

"Oh, I agree, but a little heads up would have been nice."

San just rolled his eyes and turned to Dom, who was unpacking his computer case.

"Dom, can you get into Beacon's systems?"

"Wrong question." Dom said, pulling out his patchwork computer. "I could probably get in pretty easily. The real question is if I can without them catching me doing it and I'm not sure. I'll have to see what kind of security they have up first."

"How long will that take?"

Dom was already buried in his computer. Without looking up, he shrugged. "Couldn't say. I'll let you know when I've got something."

San nodded. "Just be as quick as you can. I want our targets found as soon as possible, and Beacon's security and surveillance systems are our best bet right now."

Dom looked up. "I'll work fast, but having to go to classes is gonna take a big chuck out of my free time. Speaking of, here's the schedule." He held out his scroll, which Will whisked into his hand with a swirl of wind. As he read, he cocked an eyebrow at the words, for him a reaction akin to having his jaw drop open.

"What?" San asked. Will handed him the scroll and Argos leaned over San's shoulder to see it. As he read, San's grip tightened until the casing creaked.

"Is this a joke?" He almost hissed.

Argos had the gall to chuckle. "If it is, Ozpin's got a better sense of humor than I thought."

San handed him the scroll, and walked over to the door. When he opened it, His squadmates glanced at him.

"Where you going?" Dom asked.

"I'm gonna run for a while, get some exercise and a lay of the land."

"You need to exercise after fighting all day?" Argos asked as Will join San at the doorway, clearly intending to accompany the squad captain.

"We can't all be as lazy as you." And with that parting sally, San and Will were off.

oOoOoOoOo

The door to Roman's hideout opened with a screech of rusty metal. Roman turned to face it, wondering why the man walking through it had chosen to enter through the massive loading bay shutters as opposed to the perfectly accessible front door. He suspected it was an attempt to assert some threatening presence, the old shutters were quite heavy and moving them would take some serious muscle. God knows Roman had done some flaunting when meeting some potential associates. Though, Roman usually went with the tried and true method of bringing a large number of guys with him, while his new assistant was alone. The man looked threatening enough, sure, what with that wicked looking spear slung over his back, but even so, Roman had been promised more manpower for this new scheme of Cinder's. Just one guy wasn't gonna cut it.

"I was led to believe there would be more of you." He called to the man walking across the warehouse floor.

"The others are getting a feel for the area and securing our new living quarters. We didn't have much desire to camp out on the floor here." He gestured around him.

"I'm going to need to meet them if I want to make a plan that will use your, what were they called? Unique and powerful skills, or something like that?"

The spearman leaned against a pillar. "I can give you a brief rundown on each of our skills, and we can all meet up at another time. Right now I just want to make sure my squad is going to get what's been promised to us."

Roman nodded and tossed a scroll to him. The screen lit up his face as the spearman quickly read. After a minute, he tossed the scroll back. "That seems to be in order, but it's still quite a claim. How do I know you guys can even do all that, much less have a guarantee you'll keep your side of the bargain anyway?"

Roman wasn't surprised at the lack of trust. Someone who would trust a known criminal blindly probably wasn't smart enough to be all that useful. "We thought you might say that. You'll get to see the blueprints when we get our hands on them, and the first usage of the machine will be on one of you." He thought that was all a bit much, but Cinder had been insistent that they secure these guys' loyalty. "Will that be enough?"

"It'll do for now. One of us will double check the blueprints when we get them to make sure this is all feasible. Until then, I believe we have some work to do."

Roman smiled. "Right then, on to business."

* * *

Alright, chapter four is up. I must have rewritten this three times by now, it just didn't seem to click. Looking forward to RWBY starting back up soon, but just a little bummed it's all but guaranteed to make this all non-canon. Oh well, that's the price you pay for writing fanfics for shows that are still going. Drop a review and let me know what you think of the story thus far.


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